Survivor 2014: It’s a RHAP, A Cagayan Closeout Special

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Coming to you live from the conclusion of the Cagayan season, it is Rob Cesternino joined with Josh Wigler. Weeks after the end of the season, Rob still feels good about not only the winner and season itself but also the coverage the podcast had for the season. Josh enjoyed the return to form Survivor has been able to do this season, as his memories of One World have been pushed aside for this season.

Rob Cesternino and Josh Wigler review Survivor Cagayan and answer your questions on a special edition of Rob Has a Podcast.

The shift from where the show seemed to be heading at the conclusion of One World to where we are now is as clear as night and day.

Josh enjoyed his experience being at the live finale, especially with the changes made for the latest finale. Josh got to speak with the final 4 in person and was really surprised in one of his chats compared to the other 3.

Josh had loads of praise for Tony during his interview and even brought in a specialist to translate the llama talk. Josh can be seen at the finale right after Spencer is voted out during the war vet segment.

The guys felt that the next season is in the works for being possibly the most erratic season ever as the next cast uses Tony’s game as a basis for their own games. Rob also thought the hopes for returnees have diminished due to this season as well. Tony’s game was compared to another god/TP idol winner, Yul Kwon. Josh found it hard to describe what makes a season great, but he did say he didn’t want “mactors” in the cast. Josh did like starting with 3 tribes and thought it should be used every once in a while but not too often. How tribe swaps impacted gameplay also was discussed as necessary for interesting stuff later on. Josh also said that Redemption Island was best used in a Blood vs Water season and is pleased with its return in the same capacity as before.

Rob showcased Nicole’s psychic abilities from the Cagayan preview show with shocking results. The guys go into the fashion sense of Probst and then their personal rankings of seasons. RHAP’s friend Dalton Ross had his top 5 rankings of seasons read by Rob as well.

The controversial topic of intentionally Matsing-ing rears its ugly head again as the idea is floated around. The theory of new types of bluffs also was spoken about as a future prospect for later seasons along with how players should deal with such lies by going to Probst and production.

Rob wanted to know if players are more likely to go after the hashtags and episode titles. The guys speculated about if there was any funnier moment than the auction or the llama talk. They then thought Woo was a master of funny moments.

Sarah and LJ were given the award for most likely to be forgotten from this season as Kass was the one more likely to be remembered as time goes on. Morgan vs RC in terms of return-ability was also discussed in the good looks category. Kass’ chances in a another season was also a discussion point, which was determined to be dependent on the adjustments to her social game and her second season’s tribe structure.

Rob reveals that he was crushed by AJ Mass in their personal Survivor Fantasy draft, with AJ having all 5 of the final 5 on his team.

Josh felt the breakdown of the individual immunity wins was a shock with the Brains dominating in them despite their poor start to the season.

The meaning of swearing on loved ones was also spoken of as being totally different in today’s game than in seasons past. Everyone’s favorite Survivor family that rhymes with Antz is getting a new TV show and Rob spoke of a future podcast with them about that. Tony’s future prospects were also discussed as being a rough road.

Rob veers into Breaking Bad territory in his talks of Survivor characters with comical results.

Wrapping up the RHAP-up, Rob spoke about several news headlines that relate to Survivor this season with mixed feelings.

Questions to be Answered:

How did the cancellation of The Jeff Probst Show influence Survivor?

Which Survivors are which Ninja Turtles?

How likely are future players to be influenced by Tony’s erratic gameplay?

Where does Tony rank among all-time winners?

What makes a season’s cast great?

Is the idea of a One World/ Blood vs Water fused season a good idea?

Does the podcast have a resident psychic on staff?

What was the best wardrobe for Probst at the finales?

What are their favorite seasons of Survivor?

Who owns the copyright for intentional Matsing-ing (and is it a good thing)?

Josh Wigler is an entertainment journalist who covers Survivor, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and other popular TV shows for The Hollywood Reporter. He's the co-author of The Evolution of Strategy, creator of First One Out, host of Post Show Recaps and The Wiggle Room, and occasional Wanda Shirk impersonator. Follow him on Twitter @roundhoward.